Don't Hold Back
by Sariasprincy
Summary: When the Uchiha Family gives up on Sakura, she returns the favor. ItaSaku. non massacre


**(A/N: Anyways, once again, sorry for the delayed (seriously delayed) post, but I got a laptop for Christmas so it should be easier for me to write everything.**

**Um...I think Angel Child will be out next week. It's already written, but it still needs to be edited. So yeah...**

**Thanks for all your patience!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto and other characters!!)**

**Please note: This story was a themed challenge. But I've had a change of plans. Please read my profile for further information.****

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**Don't Hold Back  
Theme number 48: Pain**

Sakura sat back in her chair and glared at her computer screen. A headache pounded at the forefront of her mind and her stomach growled in hunger. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or had something to drink or even slept. She was probably dehydrated; the reason for her headache…

She ran her hands over her face and looked at the computer screen expectantly, but found it still frozen. A harsh glare was sent at the workstation, but there was still no change on the monitor. Impatiently, Sakura flipped the switch for all her plug-ins and shut everything off before she threw back her chair and stood up.

She gathered all of her files and papers before she left her office and turned off the light. The halls of the hospital were quiet, but she had expected only a few people to show up early; it was eight in the morning, after all. Her double-shift was finally ending and she could go home and pass out on her bed.

"Morning, Doctor Haruno," the nurse at the front desk, Yuki, smiled. "Anything exciting happen last night?"

Sakura smiled slightly as she handed her files to Yuki. "It's the dead of night; nothing exciting ever happens in the _hospital_."

The woman chuckled lightly. "Point taken."

Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly and signed a paper before handing it to the nurse. The blonde woman gave her a maternal smile. "You really shouldn't work yourself so hard, Sakura."

"I'm just want to help," Sakura smiled lightly as she read over a report.

"Haruno-san."

Sakura glanced to her left and jumped. Itachi stood next to her at a respectable distance, but his sudden appearance and her fatigue caused her a jolt of surprise. "Uchiha-san." Sakura put a hand over her racing heart. "You startled me."

"My apologies," he said quietly.

A slow breath escaped Sakura's lips and she looked him over automatically for injuries. When she found none, she turned back to her file and signed off a surgery. "Is there something I can help you with?"

He took a step closer. "I have a concern about Sasuke."

She stared at him blankly for a moment, not understanding, and then she remembered.

Sasuke and Naruto had both gone on an A-rank mission together that had unexpectedly turned into an S-ranked. They both had come home badly injured, Sasuke being worse with internal bleeding and several broken bones, but that was about two weeks ago and he was doing fine. Naruto had been released a week ago due to the demon's healing chakra.

"About what?" Sakura asked handing a file to Yuki in return for another.

"He says the medicine you have been giving him is making him nauseous," Itachi explained in a voice of soft velvet.

Sakura gave him a close-lipped smile of reassurance. "That's to be expected."

Normally, Sakura would have melted at his voice due to her secret crush on the older Uchiha, but her weariness made her dull to everything around her. Even so, how could she not like him? He was the focus of every girl's dream. He was strong, smart, brave, loyal to those close to him, and not to mention as gorgeous as a god. He was absolutely perfect. Why wouldn't any girl like him?

He didn't react, but his tone became hard. "I would be more assured if someone could please check to see that was all it was."

Oh yeah, that's why. Itachi was persistent at the worst of times, not to mention straight to the point and anti-social. His comment had sounded more of a command and he was currently holding an impatient, dark aura around him. He was giving off the feeling that he wanted her to do what he asked without question. The only problem was Sakura was tired and had no patience. She wanted to sign this last paper and go home and that's exactly what she planned to do.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura said handing Yuki the last file before she turned to Itachi, "Sasuke is doing quite well for the injuries he had sustained and I need not remind you that medicines do have side effects."

Itachi's eyes narrowed only a minuscule, but she caught it; a line had been crossed. "I thought doctors were supposed to care for their patients, _Doctor Haruno_, or was that only the concerned ones?"

Sakura stared at him in shock for a long moment.

Usually Itachi was a very impassive and composed person. He was polite at a distant and was typically very generous in asking for favors, never one to request anything from anyone unless it was important, but he had just snapped at her like she was an annoying five-year-old that needed to be taught a lesson.

That did not settle well with her. She wanted to smack him. "Sasuke was my teammate, _Uchiha_" – she said his surname like it was venom – "and I care for him like a brother, but I'm good enough at my job to know what his diagnosis is. Therefore, there is no reason for me to have to 'assure' you further." She crossed her arms. "I would have thought that after caring for your family for so long you would trust me." She walked toward the hospital doors and threw over her shoulder: "You're welcome to find yourself another doctor."

Then she walked out into the early morning light without a second glance.

* * *

Sakura woke to the feel of someone on her bed. She kept her eyes closed in case it was an enemy shinobi and casually rolled over onto her stomach to grab the kunai stashed under her pillow. The cold metal brought relief to her overheated hand, but she didn't attack right away.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed in her ear.

Immediately her eyes snapped open and her hand released the kunai. "Naruto?" she murmured with a sleep heavy voice.

"I was wondering what happened to you," he smiled, sitting criss-cross on her bed.

Tilting her head slightly, Sakura sent him a questioning glance. "What do you mean?"

"No one's seen you in a couple of days," Naruto replied, his golden hair shining in the evening sun.

Sakura sat up and looked at the clock. It was later than she thought.

"You were working all day and night at the hospital and then you had your yelling match with Itachi and then you've been home for two days," he explained carelessly. "Everyone's worried."

Sakura grimaced. "You heard about that, did you?"

She stood up and walked over to her closet while Naruto stayed on her bed. "Everyone's heard about it," the blonde said. "Yuki told Ino and…well you know how Ino is."

"Yeah, I know how Ino is," Sakura murmured as she changed into one of her work shirts.

Ino just happened to have the biggest mouth in Konoha and when she found a particular piece of gossip to be especially juicy she made it her duty to make sure _everyone_ in Konoha knew about it. If the gossip was interesting than her mouth was useful but if it was something like this recent piece of news it was downright annoying. Sakura could already hear the whispering about her as she imagined her walk to work. Maybe she could talk Naruto into going with her.

Peeking out of her closet, Sakura looked at the blonde male sitting on her bed who was staring at her ceiling for whatever reason. "Why are you here anyways?"

Naruto pulled his eyes from the ceiling to stare at her. "Tsunade wanted me to get you." His brilliant blue eyes stared shinning playfully. "She said you've had a long enough break and it's time you got back to work."

Sakura pulled a face. "She's always working me," she complained half-heartedly. "I need a break sometime."

Naruto laughed as she disappeared back into her closet to finish changing.

When Sakura reappeared she had her shoes on and was just putting her into a messy bun. "Was there something else?" she asked at seeing Naruto still on her bed.

He jumped off the neatly made bed – she guessed he made it for her – and walked with her out of the bedroom. "Yep, I'm walking you to work." Sakura sent him a suspicious glance. "Someone's got to save you from all the gossip."

Sakura smiled at his tactic and grabbed an apple from the counter before the two made for the hospital.

The walk had been nice even though many people were staring at Sakura. Some gazes were angry – those were from the fangirls – some were disapproving – she guessed because it was _the_ Uchiha heir she had yelled at – and some were even awed. Though she suspected those were because Itachi was fierce and dangerous and for her to have gotten away with yelling at him without even a scratch had been somewhat amazing.

Though the more she thought about it the guiltier she felt. He was only trying to help his brother and he was her patient. She should have done what Itachi asked and checked on Sasuke. What if something really did happen?

After saying good-bye to Naruto, Sakura immediately set off for the nurses' station and grabbed Sasuke's file. She was going to make sure Sasuke was alright before she started her rounds for the night.

Upon entering the Uchihas' usual hospital room – one of the biggest in the hospital – she found Sasuke asleep on the hospital bed. His monitor showed his heart rate to be steady and even and his blood pressure to be fine. She wrote down his levels in his file, but stopped for a split second when she detected Itachi's chakra behind her.

_'Calm down, Sakura,'_ she coached herself. _'Just ignore him.'_

Sakura returned back to writing his condition, but the memory of her and Itachi's last encounter broke through her focus and guilt hit her in the stomach. She shouldn't have yelled at him like that. He was just worried about his younger brother. She probably would be too if she had a sibling who had been in the hospital for two weeks.

"Uchiha-san," she forced herself to say softly, "I'm sorry about the other day." She turned to look at Itachi as he stared back evenly. "I had over-worked myself and was on edge from lack of sleep. It was wrong and unprofessional of me to have dismissed you so readily and I apologize for my lack of concern over Sasuke."

Itachi looked her over for the better of a minute before he nodded and walked up to the side of Sasuke's bed. He gazed down at his younger brother as Sakura made for the door to give him some privacy, but stopped when he spoke: "How is he doing?"

Sakura paused with her hand on the handle and glanced back at him. "He's fine-." She stopped as his breathing hitched slightly. Hurriedly she dropped his file on a chair and grabbed the stethoscope from around her neck and put it on.

Sasuke's heart sounded even, but the almost inaudible hitching of his breathing was making her nervous. He shouldn't have irregular breathing if he was sleeping. Even if he were having nightmares his breathing wouldn't sound the same.

Then she heard it. Something was in his left lung. It sounded solid and close to blocking the airway.

Sakura hit the call button near the head of the bed and spoke: "I need an operating room stat. Get me Tsunade and Shizune immediately."

"On it, Haruno-san," a nurse said. There was a slight paused. "Condition?"

"Patient has a foreign object in the left lung. Surgery is required to remove," Sakura replied professionally.

Itachi's eyes were burning into hers. "What is happening?"

Sakura looked up at him with a serious expression. "Sasuke probably breathed in something during that mission two weeks ago and it's started to affect his breathing."

The older Uchiha's expression was hard. "Will he be alright?" he asked his voice strained.

The nurses rushed in and began pulling Sasuke out of the room. Sakura pierced her lips together and stared at him evenly. "I need your parents. We're going to need to talk to them." Then she turned and followed the nurses out of the room.

"Sakura," Tsunade said, meeting her halfway to the operation room, "we're following your lead on this one."

The pink-haired kunoichi nodded once and began suiting up with Shizune and Tsunade. "Hopefully this will go smoothly."

* * *

Sakura let out a deep sigh as the assisting nurses rolled Sasuke into the recovery ICU. Shizune silently followed her into the changing room to take off of their scrubs with Tsunade close behind. She held a jar with a black lump about a centimeter in diameter.

"I'm going to run some tests on this to find out what it is," the blonde woman said, leaving the changing room.

"Will you tell me when you get the results?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade nodded and left with Sakura and Shizune behind her. The two women didn't follow her though; they headed toward the Uchiha family.

"Sasuke's surgery was a success and he's expected to make a full recovery," Sakura informed them with a smile.

Mikoto let out a relieved sob and clung to her husband for comfort. Fugaku wrapped an arm around her waist but gave Sakura a dark stare. "Why didn't you detect this earlier?" he snapped.

Sakura took a deep breath. "Before today there had not been any indications, but the size of the object shows that it had been there for a while."

"How could you not know it was there?" Fugaku continued. "You're a doctor; you're supposed to see these things quickly before they can become threatening."

The pink-haired kunoichi stared at the Uchiha family uneasily. Fugaku was glaring harshly while Mikoto was holding onto him with a worried expression. She was looking back and forth between Sakura and her husband, but Sakura wasn't looking at them; she was calculating Itachi's reaction.

He was staring at Sakura blankly, hiding whatever he was feeling or thinking. Though through his carefully covered emotions, she could make out the troubled thoughts that seemed to be pushing his normally façade to its limits.

"Uchiha-san, Doctor Haruno is doing all she-."

Shizune stepped forward and began to defend Sakura in a respectful manner, but Sakura interrupted: "Sense I seemed to be incapable of healing your family properly, Sasuke will now be under the care of Doctor Shizune." Sakura glanced at the dark-haired woman and ignored her shocked expression. "You can now consult her about Sasuke's treatments."

Sakura bowed and swiftly walked away.

Tears of embarrassment brimmed in her eyes, but she tried to push them down. It hurt that Itachi – her crush of several years – didn't believe in her enough to take care of her ex-teammate and his younger brother. Not only that, but their dad didn't trust in her either. Even though she had taken care of their family many times they didn't trust her to heal Sasuke. If she wasn't so upset and hurt, she'd definitely be pissed, but at the moment she felt useless… like she failed the Uchiha family.

* * *

The days seemed to blur together. Sakura guessed that it had been five days since Sasuke's surgery, but she wasn't quite sure. She'd purposely been making herself work double-shifts to forget about what had happened days before and so far it was successful.

While Tsunade was doing tests on the lump they had pulled from Sasuke's lung, Sakura had taken over her patients' care. She found herself working with ranges from small scratches and giving six-year-olds shots to deadly wounds from shinobi and mental cases. She'd never worked with such a wide range before but she kind of liked it. It was never the same problem; it kept her attention focused.

"Doctor Haruno to Room 356," an announcement was made over the intercoms.

Sakura looked up from her computer in her office and her eyes narrowed in confusion when she realized it was one of Tsunade's case's room. If she recalled correctly, that was the mental case ward.

Quickly, she stood and walked out of her office to the nearest elevator. She grabbed the file from a nurse who was waiting for her and pressed the up button as she opened the file. The patient appeared to be fine last check up, but what could have happened that they would have to call her up to his room?

Sakura heard the metal doors to the elevator open smoothly and she glanced up only to freeze in shock. Itachi was standing in the elevator, apparently waiting for her the get in. He had a book in his hand – Sakura recognized at Sasuke's favorite novel – and his arms were crossed impatiently as he waited for the kunoichi to move.

"Doctor Haruno to Room 356 stat!" the intercoms said hurriedly.

Sakura looked up at the sound and walked into the elevator before quickly pushing the button for the third floor. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she murmured unconsciously.

The doors closed and silently the lift went up. Sakura made herself busy by reading the latest note in the patient's file, but was too busy focusing on what Itachi was doing to register what exactly she was reading.

When the doors opened for the recovery ward, Itachi walked passed her without a word, but his arm brushed against hers ever so slightly. She didn't know if that had been accidently or not, but she didn't think it was; there was a whole two feet of room he could have used.

Sakura shook it off as the elevator went up one more floor and rushed down the hall the moment the doors opened.

"What happened?" Sakura asked Yuki as she heard the screaming of her patient.

The blonde woman shrugged. "We don't know. He just started screaming; he tried to kill himself with the needle in his arm."

Sakura didn't need any more explanation as she handed Yuki the file and entered the room. Two nurses were holding him down, trying to calm him while a third tried to inject him with a clear liquid she knew would knock him out.

"I can't get it in him with him struggling like this," the nurse with the needle said.

Sakura ran over to the left side of the bed and grabbed the man's arm as she tried to hold him still enough to get the injection into his system. She wanted to use her chakra to hold him still, but too much pressure would break his arm and that would make the situation worse. If the room wasn't so chaotic she'd be able to concentrate enough to use her chakra to knock him unconscious, but the mess of screaming and panic was too much for her to block out.

The nurse next to Sakura gasped as the man pulled one of the two needles out of his arm and tried to stab her. Sakura threw her arm out on reflex to protect her and the needle raked down her wrist instead. The woman on the opposite side of the bed lost her grip on the man and he yelled out in anger as his fist made contact with Sakura's mouth.

The force behind the hit caused her to lose her balance and she hit the floor, the left side of her head making contact first.

Sakura's vision vanished for a moment and when she opened her eyes again, everything was spinning. From a distance, someone called her name, but she wasn't exactly sure who it had been. The metallic taste of blood flooded her taste buds and rushed into her nose and something warm and wet pooled by her forehead, without a doubt she knew that it too was blood. When her hearing slowly came back, the first thing she heard was a loud racket from somewhere behind her. The struggle for control had continued.

A rush of anger flooded over Sakura and carefully she pushed herself to her feet and grabbed the abandoned injection on the floor. She uncapped it and turned to see the three nurses were still struggling to restrain the man. She knew he was a mental health patient, but she couldn't hold back. If she did, her nurses would be hurt and she'd rather the man get injured than her staff.

Angrily, Sakura walked to the bed, ignoring her spinning vision, and slammed the needle into the patient's heart. He froze at the sudden pain before he relaxed into a deep sleep. Ever so slowly, the nurses released their hold on the man as if expecting him to wake up and start his thrashing all over again.

The nurse Sakura had saved from getting cut earlier turned to her with a relieved expression, but it quickly changed to extreme worry. "You're bleeding, Haruno-san," she said reaching for Sakura's head wound.

Sakura took a step back to avoid her out stretched hand and turned away. "Can you please get me Tsunade?"

"Right away," the nurse said before she ran out of the room.

Sakura looked at the other two. "Make sure he doesn't wake. I don't care if someone has to stay in here and constantly inject him. I don't want him conscious until Tsunade can continue to care for him. Understood?"

"Yes, Doctor Haruno," the two nurses said in unison.

After Sakura looked over the other nurses to be sure they hadn't been injured in the struggle, she walked out of the room and carefully made her way over to one of the many chairs against the wall as dizziness hit her like a second blow to the head. She let herself fall into the seat before she leaned her throbbing head back against the wall with a groan of discomfort.

"Sakura," Tsunade's voice said calmly, "can you walk?"

The kunoichi opened her eyes and stared at the blurry image of her old mentor before closing them for a moment to brace herself. "If you help me."

Tsunade's arm gently wrapped around Sakura's waist as she hoisted the pink-haired kunoichi's arm over her shoulders. "C'mon. We need to get you to the first floor."

Sakura barely paid any attention as she and the Hokage walked to the elevator and into an examining room. "Sit down Sakura. You probably have a concussion."

"I do," Sakura murmured as she closed her eyes to unsuccessfully block out the dizziness.

"What happened?"

Sakura recalled to her in as much detail as she could remember while Tsunade stitched the wound above her left eye. Even through her confusion and dizziness she could tell that Tsunade wasn't actually interested in what happened, she was trying to keep her aware and alert. When she finished, Tsunade moved onto the cut on her wrist. Effortlessly, she cleaned and healed it.

It was quiet between them for a short while before Shizune burst through the door. "Tsunade-sama, I heard Sakura was-." She stopped and looked at the pink-haired kunoichi. "Oh dear. Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

She looked up at the Uchiha family's new doctor and gave her a reassuring smile. "Groggy."

"She has a concussion," Tsunade answered as she took off her gloves and threw them away. "You're going to stay overnight so we can keep an eye on you, Sakura." She glanced at her half-conscious ex-student as she washed her hands. "And don't even think of arguing."

Sakura shook her head in confusion. What was she going to argue about…or supposed to not? "Argue what?"

Tsunade cast Sakura annoyed glance while Shizune looked at her in worry. The Hokage sighed deeply at the pink-haired kunoichi before she turned to her assistant. "That object in Sasuke's lung was a piece of rock wrapped around chakra."

Shizune and Sakura stared at her in surprise. "What?" they asked in unison.

Tsunade sat back down on her seat as Shizune closed the door and leaned against the counter. "I did some research in the bingo books and apparently it belongs to a missing Iwa ninja." She paused so Sakura could have time to register what she said. "He can manipulate earth and when Naruto and Sasuke were out he must have accidentally inhaled some of the rock debris."

"Isn't it too big for someone to 'inhale'," Sakura asked, "or is my concussion messing up my memory."

"No," Tsunade said. "The rock was slowly expanding. We didn't notice it earlier because it was only a speck of dust, but after doing some research I found that he makes his rocks expand. My tests showed that his chakra is so used to expanding rocks that it unconsciously started expanding in Sasuke's lung."

Shizune cast Sakura a thoughtful glance before turning back to Tsunade. "Then it had only just now become big enough to be noticed?"

Tsunade nodded. "I'm actually surprised Sakura had heard it there already. It was almost too small to be a problem."

The dark-haired woman gave Tsunade a look. "Can I tell the family?"

A sinister smile came to Tsunade's lips at her question and she shook her head. "No. I want to tell them."

She made for the door, but Sakura spoke: "What about Naruto?"

Tsunade stopped and looked back at her. "We'll have him come in tomorrow and get a lung scan. He should be fine thanks to the demon's chakra though."

Sakura nodded tiredly while Shizune walked over to her. "I'll go get you a hospital room and then you can sleep."

She murmured something unintelligible before she lied down on the examining table and closed her eyes. Darkness quickly fogged her mind and quietly she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

It fell like only a few minutes had passed by the time Sakura felt someone shake her awake. "Sakura, how are you feeling?" Shizune said gently.  
The pounding in Sakura's head had ceased and her mind felt a little less clouded. She opened her eyes and looked and looked up at her dark-haired friend. "Better," she said, slowly sitting up.

"Good," Shizune smiled. "Sasuke's been asking for you. He's wondering where you are."

Sakura looked up at her colleague, unsure. "Did you tell him?"

She shook her head. "No, but I think you're in good enough condition to go see him if you want to."

"But what about-?"

"Tsunade talked to the Uchiha family yesterday. She made them feel horrible; I thought Fugaku was going to cry," she said with a playful grin.

Sakura laughed lightly as Shizune checked her heart rate. The thought kept a smile on her face, but it slowly sobered. "What did Itachi-san say?"

Shizune wrote something on her clipboard and handed her a pile of clothes. "He didn't say anything; he hardly even reacted." Slowly she stood up. "Anyways, why don't you get changed and go see Sasuke. He looked really worried actually."

Looking down at her covered legs Sakura murmured, "How many people know about yesterday?"

The dark-haired woman looked at Sakura curiously. "Um…me, Tsunade-sama, the nurses that saw it happen and Yuki. Tsunade-sama told them to keep it to themselves; not everyone needed to know that you had been hospitalized."

A small smile appeared on Sakura's face and she turned back to Shizune: "Will you tell shishou thank you?"

She nodded once and left, giving Sakura privacy to change.

When Sakura was fully dressed, she walked into the hall and headed to the opposite end of the hospital towards the Uchiha's usual room. She bit her lower lip and walked slower than was necessary toward the room, growing reluctant as she drew nearer and nearer to the vicinity. She didn't want to see Fugaku or Itachi, but Sasuke had wanted to see her and he deserved an explanation for her absence.

As the door came into view, Sakura's pace slowed to almost a crawl and she tested the air for chakra. She almost turned around and walked away when she felt not only Sasuke's chakra, but Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi's. The whole family was there; it would be rude to interrupt, wouldn't it? She didn't think it would hurt to come back later when it was only him.

Sakura started backing away from the door but stopped dead when Yuki's voice sounded: "Oh, Sakura, were you going to see the Uchiha family?"

She turned around slowly to see Yuki was behind her with a small plastic cup with two pills in it. She was going to give Sasuke his medicine. "Oh, no, I was just going to-."

"Oh, well can you give Sasuke his medicine for me?" the blonde asked, shoving the pills into her hands.

"But I-," Sakura started as Yuki walked away.

The pink-haired kunoichi stood there for a long moment as she tried to decide what to do. Thanks to Yuki, now she had to go into Sasuke's room to giving him his medicine. She couldn't just walk away like she desperately wanted to do. Great, this week was turning out to be a disaster.

Taking a deep breathing, Sakura built up her courage and entered the Uchiha's hospital room. The moment she entered, all conversation in the room stopped and everyone turned to her. Everyone, excluding Sasuke, looked at her in surprise at her presence; he was staring at her in horror.

"Oh Sakura dear," Mikoto said. "Thank you so much for-."

"Sakura, what happened?" Sasuke interrupted.

She stood there for a second as she remembered how she had smacked her head on the floor yesterday and cringed mentally. It was probably as bad as Sasuke thought it was. The bruising and cuts and stitches probably made her skin black, blue, purple, and every other disgusting color.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," she brushed it off. "I came to give you your medicine," Sakura said as she walked to the edge of the youngest Uchiha's bed and held out the plastic container. She purposely kept her back to the other three in the room, but it became difficult when Sasuke grabbed the medicine out of her hands and set it on the nightstand. His attention was solely fixed on her as he grabbed her wrist and pull her down so she had to sit on the edge of the bed. His fingers lightly traced the gash and she pulled back with a sharp hiss as he applied too much pressure on accident.

"Sorry," he murmured. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Sakura said, pulling away. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"You have a concussion," Itachi said quietly.

Sakura stared at Itachi in surprise. How did he know? "I'm fine."

The gasp that tore out of Mikoto's mouth and the slightly worried expression Fugaku gave her made Sakura immediately regret looking at them. "Oh, Sakura," Mikoto said, rushing to the kunoichi's side, "you should sit down."

She didn't resist Mikoto's help as she steered Sakura into the chair by the bed. Immediately she began looking over her wound with the gentle hands of a mother only touching the area when absolutely necessary. "How did you manage to get this, Sakura-chan?" she murmured.

Sakura froze at the name and stared at her in shock. Sasuke shared a similar expression, but what really surprised her was when Itachi grabbed his mother's shoulders and pulled her back slightly. "You should not fret over Sakura, mother," he said calmly. "I am sure she does not appreciate the attention." Itachi made eye contact with her. His black eyes were so startlingly beautiful that Sakura felt her breath leave her.

The moment passed quickly though and, the second Sakura had enough space, she stood and bolted out of the room, closing the door behind her to ensure no one followed her. Her heart was pounding almost painfully fast, but she didn't think it was from the sudden exertion of energy.

That look that Itachi gave her, what did it mean?

* * *

The day Sasuke was released from the hospital all the nurses and doctors and surgeons that had helped him through his recovery greeted him as he made his way for the exit. Tsunade and Shizune waited for him at the entrance of the hospital and when he reached them he stopped. His parents and brother walked out and wait for him on the steps.

"Where's Sakura?" he asked looking around.

Shizune and Tsunade glanced at each other. "She's around," Tsunade answered with a level voice.

Sasuke glared at the two women, knowing very well they knew where and what Sakura was doing. "When you see her, could you please tell her to stop by my house? We're having a small get–together and I would like her to be there."

Shizune smiled. "We'll be sure to pass it along."

"Now get out of here," Tsunade said playfully as she gently pushed Sasuke out the door. "You'd think that after being here for three weeks you'd be sprinting out of here."

The dark-haired woman laughed at the Hokage's small joke before the two women watched Sasuke leave the hospital. They stood at the doors for a long while as they watched the family walk down the busy streets of Konoha. Civilians stopped at the sight of Sasuke before quickly going into different stores to spread the news of the Uchiha's recovery.

"I think gossip should be illegal," Tsunade murmured quietly.

Shizune glanced at the Hokage and shook her head slightly before walking away. "I'm going to go talk to Sakura," she said over her shoulder. Tsunade didn't reply, but she knew she had heard.

* * *

When Sakura finally arrived at the Uchiha compound, she felt her heart jump into her throat. She fidgeted with the hem of her red, long sleeve, v-neck sweatshirt for a second before deciding to shove her hands into the pockets of her black slacks and she used her bangs to hide the remainder of the bruises above her left eye.

There was quite a bit of noise coming from the inside of the house when she reached the front door and when she knocked Fugaku was the one to answer. He looked at her for a moment before he smiled lightly - or was it her imagination - and stepped aside. "Please come in, Haruno-san."

Normally Sakura would have smiled and told him to call her 'Sakura', but she was feeling slightly awkward at the moment and could only manage to nod before she slipped passed him. She took off her boots and followed him into the living room where everyone was talking.

Immediately, Sakura noticed Naruto and Sasuke were obviously arguing over something on the couch while Ino and Hinata sat on the floor at their feet and talked. Sakura took noticed of Itachi almost instantly and thanked whatever god was watching out for her for he was too busy engaged in conversation with who she recognized to be Shisui to notice her presence. Sasuke's aunt and uncle, Uruchi and Teyaki, were also present, but they quickly disappeared inside the dining room to help Mikoto set the table.

Quietly, Sakura slipped passed the small groups and came to a stop in front of Hinata and Ino. She sat on the ground next to them and smile in greeting as they continued their conversation.

"But that doesn't make sense," Ino disagreed. "I thought that the main branch was always superior."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, they are, but because they believe cousin Neji is so strong they've decided to allow him into the main branch."

"But that's breaking tradition," Ino shook her head in confusion.

The younger female shrugged. "I don't understand it either, but it's what the clan heads have decided."

Ino opened her mouth to say more, but Naruto caught sight of Sakura and tackled her into a giant hug. "Sakura-chan! You came!"

Conversation around the room died as all eyes fell on them. Sakura stared over Naruto's shoulder at Sasuke in horror as Ino and Hinata looked at the blonde male in shock. Sasuke glared at his best friend before he smacked his forehead in annoyance. "Dobe, what did I say about subtle?"

"But Sakura-chan didn't even say hi to me."

"She was probably trying to avoid this awkward silence," Ino murmured.

Sakura looked at her best friend and gave her a playful glare. "It's only awkward until you say it is. Thanks Ino-pig."

Ino grinned. "No, it was pretty awkward before I said it."

Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket and pulled him off Sakura as Mikoto walked into the room. "Dinner's ready."

Immediately everyone headed towards the dinner room, but Naruto and Sakura stayed back to be sure Sasuke could make it on his own. He glanced at the two of them and glared. "I'm not handicapped, you know."

"You were just in the hospital for three weeks," Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke's glare darkened. "Why do you think I got out of the hospital, dobe? I got _better_."

Sakura laughed at their tactic as the three entered the dining room, but stopped when she realized everyone was already seated, waiting for the three of them. She immediately noticed there were two seats open next to each other, which she knew were for Naruto and Sasuke, and another across the way from them for her. Her heart stopped when she realized that Itachi was seated on the right side of the vacant seat.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura blanked her expression and took her seat next to the impassive Uchiha. When Naruto and Sasuke were settled, Mikoto began passing around the food.

As Itachi handed Sakura the rice bowl, his fingers brushed against hers. They were warm and soft and it felt like he was trying to caress her hand without it seeming obvious and then it struck her. _He had done it on purpose._

_'The little prick,'_ Sakura thought. _'He's trying to unnerve me.'_

Quickly Sakura pulled back and filled her plate with food silently as she ignored Itachi and listened to the different conversation around her instead of making her own. It wasn't until everyone had their filled their plates that Fugaku called for everyone's attention.

He raised his tea cup and waited for everyone else to copy him before he spoke: "I would like to make a toast to Haruno Sakura," he said sincerely. Sakura froze at the sound of her name, but forced herself to relax when all eyes fell on her; she had to stay calm and collected. "If it weren't for her remarkable medical skills," he continued, "I don't know if Sasuke would be out of the hospital quite yet." He made eye contact with her. "To Sakura."

"To Sakura," everyone repeated before taking a drink.

"To Sakura," Itachi murmured a moment later than anyone else and only loud enough for her to hear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a drink, his eyes never leaving her.

All throughout the meal Sakura made sure to keep her eyes on either Sasuke or Naruto who were sitting across the way from her. A few times she felt Itachi brushed his arm against hers, but she couldn't be sure if it was because of the small space they had at having over ten people at one table or if he was purposely trying to make her uncomfortable. She guessed it was the latter of the two.

It was actually a relief for Sakura when dinner was over and they all excused themselves. She quickly made her escape to Naruto and Sasuke and hurried to engage herself in conversation with Ino before anyone could try and drag her away from her friends.

When Naruto and Hinata excused themselves for the night – Hinata excused herself, Naruto claimed he had to walk her home – and Ino left to use the restroom, Sasuke turned to Sakura. "So what are you going to do?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "About?"

"Itachi," Sasuke said in a low voice so no one could over hear their conversation.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? He could hardly keep his hands to himself at dinner and he didn't leave my room to go to the restroom at the hospital; it doesn't take a half an hour."

Sakura bowed her head, knowing there was no way out of it. "I don't know," she murmured.

He paused. "Do you like him?"

When Sakura didn't respond Sasuke raised an eyebrow. She sighed loudly and nodded. "Yes."

"Then there's only one thing you can do." She looked at him in confusion. "Nothing." He looked down at her with a serious expression. "Let Itachi take the lead." Sasuke laid back on the couch as his aunt and uncle left for the night. "He knows what he's doing."

Sakura looked down at her hands as Ino came out of the bathroom and sat on the couch next to Sasuke. They began talking, but Sakura was too lost in her own thoughts to really notice what the topic was.

It was nearing twilight by the time the pink-haired kunoichi stood. "I'm going to use the restroom."

Ino waved Sakura off to show she heard, but they continued their conversation without even a slight pause. Sakura shook her head at Ino when she saw her best friend was sitting a little too close for it to look like a normal conversation between friends and Sasuke was unconsciously playing with a strand of Ino's hair.

Sakura closed the bathroom door and smiled lightly when she realized she was probably going to walk back into the living room to find them in the middle of making out or something of the sort.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she thought over what Sasuke said about Itachi. Though, she didn't understand why he would take a liking to her; she had just yelled at him all of about a week and a half ago. He seemed to totally hate her then, so what caused the sudden change of heart? She didn't understand it and she was slightly nervous about what would happen between them. She didn't know what she was doing and that scared her slightly. But then again Sasuke had told her to let Itachi take the lead.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and sighed in relief as she saw the bruising from her head injury was going away. It was only a slight red-purple color that could easily be hidden behind her bangs and would probably go away within a few days at the very most.

Covering her wound once more, Sakura straighten out her shirt and braced herself for the Ino-Sasuke make-out scene she was about to walk into. The thought brought a smile to her face and quietly she turned off the bathroom light and closed the door before she started to make her way back to the living room.

Sakura had only made it halfway when she felt someone wrap an arm around her waist and quickly drag her backwards. She tried to slip out of their grasp, but they were holding her securely.

The chaos of it all confused her and when she could finally register what was going on she found herself pinned to wall by the one and only Uchiha Itachi who had been harassing her all night. His right hand was on her hip while the other rested on the wall next to her head, effectively trapping her.

She pressed her back flat against the wall and froze. It wasn't a wall, it was a door, Itachi's door, Itachi's closed door, the _inside_ of Itachi's closed door. Her heart jumped into her throat, succeeding in making it impossible for her to talk. The blood was pounding in her ears so loud she was sure he could hear it and as she looked up at her captor her breath caught when she saw how gorgeous he was in the dark room. Itachi's raven locks were hanging loose around his shoulders and his obsidian eyes were burning straight into hers. The shadows of the room danced across his face, emphasizing the stress lines, but Sakura could only stare as it made his beauty intensify. His lips looked so soft and welcoming like she could just forget the world by pressing her lips to his for only a moment.

The thought tempted her so much she bit her bottom lip and looked away. "Is there a reason to why you trapped me in your room?"

He made a small sound of amusement in the back of his throat. "How is your head?"

Sakura looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You locked me in your room to ask me that?"

Itachi bent down and brushed his lips across her jaw bone. "It seems to be the only way I can get your attention."

Sakura sucked in a harsh breath, causing her beasts to brush against Itachi's muscular chest and it took a moment for her voice to come back. "What do you mean?" she asked lightly.

He pulled back slightly. "You really are clueless, aren't you?" he sighed.

Sakura's discomfort disappeared and was replaced by anger. She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Excuse me?"

Itachi ran his hand over her hip and took a step closer to her. "You have been ignoring me all week, Sakura. What was I supposed to do?"

She looked away. When she turned back to him her gaze was confused. "I thought you hated me."

"Then I am sorry for misleading you," he murmured.

A shiver ran up Sakura spine at hearing him use his velvety voice and she blushed lightly when Itachi chuckled at her reaction.

"So I do not further confuse you, how would you like to continue?" he whispered in her ear.

Sakura leaned into him unconsciously and let out a soft sigh. "I don't know. Sasuke told me to let you lead; you knew what you were doing."

Itachi pulled back to look her in the eye. "For once, he's right."

Then he pressed his lips firmly against hers in a searing kiss. The force of it blew Sakura's mind away and she felt the world fall away, but it ended too soon when he pulled back. "Hey," she pouted at him.

He raised a delicate eyebrow and stared down at her. "I thought I was leading."

She smirked against his lips. "Change of plans," she replied as she pushed him onto his bed and climbed on top of him.

Sakura crushed her lips against his in a defiant stance for dominance, but she quickly found herself flat on her back with Itachi pinning her to the bed. His tongue brushed the seam of her lips, requesting entrance, which she quickly granted. His hands left her wrists to explore her body while she tangled her fingers in his raven lock, pulling him closer.

When they finally parted for air Sakura looked up at Itachi with a curious gaze. He noticed it immediately and raised an eyebrow at her. "If you didn't like me ignoring you all week why did you yell at me last week?"

He smirked slightly and brushed his lips against her throat. "Because I did not want you to leave the hospital yet. I had been on a mission for the past two weeks and I had missed seeing you."

"And the elevator?" she asked, remembering how he had brushed against her arm.

"It was a form of apology," Itachi said before he kissed the corner of her mouth. "But I do not think that is enough."

Sakura raised an eyebrow as he leaned over her and propped himself up on his elbows, one on each side of her head. "Not enough?"

He smirked as he leaned down so their faces were only inches apart. "There is only one way I can make it up to you," he said as his hair spilled over his shoulders, tickling Sakura's collarbone.

"And what's that?" she asked breathlessly.

"I have to make you my girlfriend, of course," Itachi said, kissing her nose. "Make you breakfast in bed." He kissed her under her jaw bone. "Shower you with gifts." His lips touched the corner of her mouth. "Compliment you every day." He moved to the other side of her mouth.

Sakura smiled. "I think I can live with that."

"One can only hope," he replied.

"Now shut up and kiss me," Sakura smirked as she pulled herself up to kiss him hard on the lip. She didn't hold back this time as she fought against his tongue in her mouth for a battle of dominance.

Itachi pressed his body against hers and nibbled at her bottom lips as she heard Ino groan from Sasuke's room next door, but she quickly forgot about her blonde friend when Itachi nipped at her earlobe. She moaned in reaction and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer if possible.

Oh yes, this was definitely something she could get used to.

* * *

**(A/N: So I'm not exactly sure how they honor someone at the dinner table in Japan so I decided to stick with the American way! If you want to complain about it, you can go kick rocks.**

**Oh and I know Itachi is a little OOC but oh well. I enjoyed writing this and I like how it turned out.**

**Thanks for your patience!! Until next week!)**


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